The Weird and Wacky World of Stardew Valley

Chapter 4: Three Fishes, Two Stereotypes, and One Tower

"I still am, Willy. But I simply can't defy my urges to meet Pelican Town's newest member."

Perhaps what was so fascinating about Elliott's fashion of choice was how it made him look like someone who came straight from the Victorian era, complemented the red peacoat, green tie, and prominently-appealing long hair. Sprig felt the only missing element to top it off was a ribbon tying his hair to complete the look. what a missed opportunity that was.

The man now known as Elliott turned his attention towards Sprig, "Dearest stranger, my name is Elliott, I live in the little cabin by the beach. It's a pleasure to meet you. Who might you be?"

"Sprig, pleasure to meet you too," the two strangers shook hands after introducing themselves.

"Sprig, I've never heard of such name before, for I believe you are the first soul to have it."

"Uh, thanks for the complement, Elliott."

Sprig resumed his throw-and-reel attempt. His body was operating similarly to those who trained over javelin-throwing competitions at the Olympic games. On the fourth swing, Elliott began catching up to Willy's previous inquiries as he also noticed the problem with Sprig's lack of momentum. Curious to hear what the novice was thinking, Elliott aimed to pose a single playful question.

"How do you find fishing so far, Sprig?"

After returning his hook, the exhausted Sprig gave him a brief answer, "While I did experienced fishing when I was a little, I didn't remember it to be this energy-consuming."

"Haha yes, that was exactly what I said to Willy when I first arrived here."

Typical Elliott, always thought of a way to lighten the mood as emitted by Willy's expression. However, the fisherman decided to barge in the middle of the communion upon hearing Sprig's answer, after it reminded him of the remaining fishing lessons he hadn't yet provided.

"That's not all of it, Sprig. besides throwing yer line, you also need to know how to hook your catch and reelin' them in. Those are an entirely different scenario with their own learning curve," Willy turned to face Elliott before continuing. "In the beginning, I had planned to guide you on that. Although, since Elliott is here, why not let him be the one who demonstrate it to ya?"

"Of course, Willy." Elliott gave Sprig a little pat on the shoulder, "Sprig, we're in for an entertaining experience."

The victorian-era man was given Willy's fishing rod. He remarked to have left his own at home, since fishing was supposed to be off his schedule today.

"Observe how it's done, friend." Sprig saw the hook Elliott threw, amazed at distance it reached. "When you had your hook underwater, there are two essentials you need to consider. The first one is your bobber; the small object floating on the face of the sea. and the second is the direction of where the fish pulls you."

Seconds later, Elliott pointed at the now submerged bobber "when the bobber become no longer visible, it indicates the prey has taken the predator's bait, identify the direction they're pulling you in, then counter by pulling towards the opposite direction." Elliott presented a precise depiction of the actions as he mentioned, "And Voila! we have ourselves a bite. All you need to do now is to reel it in. Tailor your approach: quick retrieval for weariness, gentle and slow for formidable resistance." Elliott reeled his catch, adjusting his speed based on its enduring state. As it got closer, the rod pulled out a herring off the ocean's surface.

"Your time to shine now." Elliott set the herring aside and gestured Sprig to follow.

"Okay, here it goes," Sprig said. Resembling his previous attempt, Sprig swung his fishing rod, and the distance of the bobber was still seen floating in a relatively short range. In a matter of seconds, a fish had taken the bait.